From Pastor Lee
June 3, 2022
Our Relationship With Jesus
By the time you read this, we will have already observed Memorial Day. Memorial Day is about honoring those who served in the military and paid the ultimate price for our freedom with their lives. This holiday was first celebrated in 1866 in Waterloo, New York. As I think about Memorial Day and those who laid down their lives for us, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus and his laying down his life so that we might be free to live for him. Memorial Day also leads me to think of the words of Jesus when he said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13)
At a prayer breakfast I attended a few years ago the speaker giving the devotion that morning shared a story about two friends who were very close. One was a believer and follower of Jesus, and the other was not a Christian. During a conversation the man who was committed to Christ was asked by his friend if he really believed that those who were not devoted to Jesus would end up in hell. His friend answered with a “yes, he did believe that to be true.” His response was then followed up with another question by his friend, who asked, “So you believe that I am going to end up in hell someday?” The believer hesitated but finally said very softly, “yes.” His friend then told him that he didn’t really believe that his Christian friend really was a believer, nor did he think his friend really believed he was going to end up in hell. “Why would you say that?” asked the Christian man. “Because, said the non-believer, “if our roles were reversed, and I really believed what you claim to believe about Jesus and the Bible, I would crawl on my hands and knees across town to attempt to lead you to Christ.”
In an old Flip Wilson routine, someone asked Flip about his religion, and he answered, “I am a Jehovah’s Bystander.” “A Jehovah’s Bystander?” asked the other person. “I’ve never heard of a Jehovah’s Bystander.” Could the word “bystander,” be more accurate than the word, “witness,” in describing the way we relate to Jesus, our friends, the Gospel, and the world? I sure hope not, but it gives us something to think about. Time will tell the way we live in relation to Christ and others whether we are a ”bystander,” or a “witness,” for Jesus and his love.
Lee
